A recent Law 360 story by Diana Novak Jones, “Lieff Cabraser, Others Want $90M in State Farm Judge Case,” reports that Lieff Cabraser, Clifford Law Offices and several other firms have asked for $90 million in fees and expenses for their work representing a class of State Farm customers who settled claims the insurance giant rigged an Illinois judicial election for $250 million.  Counsel for a class of nearly 5 million policyholders who filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act suit against State Farm said that their work on the unusual and contentious litigation — which brought claims straight out of the pages of a legal thriller — warranted a fee award of more than $83 million and another $7 million in expenses.

The suit's allegations date to the late 1990s, when State Farm was hit with a more than $1 billion verdict in a separate class action over crash repairs.  After appealing that judgment to the Illinois Supreme Court, the company funneled millions into the campaign coffers of a candidate for an open seat on the court in order to buy his vote to overturn — and then lied about it in court filings, the suit claimed.  State Farm and the policyholders settled on Sept. 4, the same day opening statements were scheduled to begin, with State Farm agreeing to pay $250 million to resolve the litigation that class counsel said was a hard-fought longshot.

Taking that and the opinions of three experts on attorneys' fees into account, "Class counsel's request is reasonable, customary, and even conservative in large and complex cases like this one — and is fully supported by both the facts and law," they told U.S. District Judge David Herndon.

Class counsel asked for 33.3 percent of the $250 million, which comes out to more than $83.3 million, including interest accrued, but excluding the cost of settlement administration.  They also requested $6,971,852 in expenses, which covered the cost of experts, consultants, document review and more, according to their motion.  Each of the three named plaintiffs should receive $25,000 for their work over the past six years, class counsel added.

The insurance company will not oppose the fee request, State Farm spokesman Jim Camoriano said.  As part of the terms of the settlement, State Farm agreed to leave the question of fees to the judge, he said.  The one-third fee request is not unusual in this circuit for cases this unique or involved, class counsel told the judge.

The allegations surrounding Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier and his election to the state's highest court were likely the first time a RICO suit has been filed over so-called "dark money" in judicial elections, class counsel said.  And the alleged scheme was uncovered by class attorneys and their investigators, which is rare, the attorneys said.  Overall, class counsel spent more than 55,000 hours on the case, which translates to about $30 million in lodestar, according to the filing.

Also, the class asked Judge Herndon to give the final go-ahead to the settlement ahead of the scheduled Dec. 13 fairness hearing.  The $250 million figure was reached after several attempts at mediation, three trips to the Seventh Circuit, dozens of depositions and two rounds of summary judgment motions, they said in urging the judge to approve the deal.  After the fees and awards, the remainder of the cash will be divvied up evenly among the class members.  Many in the class will receive their payments automatically, while others will have to file a claim form, according to class counsel.

The case is Hale et al. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. et al., case number 3:12- cv-00660, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.